• Fastest Indian bowler to take 50 & 100 wickets in Test cricket.
• Joint record (with Ian Botham and Jack Gregory) of fastest to the take 50 wickets and score 500 runs (11th Tests).
• In 2016, he became the 2nd fastest bowler to take 200 Test wickets (37th match), after Australian spin bowler Clarrie Grimmett who achieved it in his 36th match.
• In 2017, he became the fastest bowler to take 300 Test wickets (54th match), breaking Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee's record (56th match).
• The 5th Indian bowler to take 300 wickets in Test cricket, after Anil Kumble (619), Kapil Dev (434), Harbhajan Singh (417) and Zaheer Khan (311).
• The 3rd Indian to receive the ICC Cricketer of the Year award, after Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Career Turning Point

His remarkable performance in the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL 3), after which he was selected in the Indian squad that toured Zimbabwe in May–June 2010.

• In September 2016, during a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match, he lost his temperament while batting for Dindigul Dragons against Chepauk Super Gillies. When the batsman on the other end, Jagadeesan Narayan got dismissed, Ashwin and Narayan had a verbal spat and physical tussle with the bowler Kishore who pushed Narayan and passed provocating comments.
• In December 2016, he was trolled on social media as he didn't mention the name of former captain MS Dhoni in his thank you speech after winning the ICC Best Test Cricketer Award.
• On 19 February 2018, Ashwin promoted a shoe brand on Twitter, to which former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs tweeted, "Hopefully you will be able to run faster now Ashwin." Ashwin counted his tweet by saying, "Surely not as fast as you did mate, unfortunately I was not as blessed as you were. But I was blessed with a wonderfully ethical mind not to fix games that put food on my plate." Soon after, Ashwin deleted the tweets respecting his "family of fans."